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ChopinAddict
6000 Post Club Member
Registered: 08/29/09
Posts: 6449
Loc: Land of the never-ending music

I once bookmarked this page, according to which the pitch of old keyboard instruments was:

1640 Vienna Franciscan Organ A457.61699 Paris Opera A4041711 John Shore's tuning fork, a pitch of A423.5 He invented the tuning fork, one of which still exists today.1780 Stines, for Mozart, A4211780 Organ builder Schulz A421.31714 Strasbourg Cathedral organ A3911722 Dresden's chief Roman Catholic church organ A4151759 Trinity College Cambridge organ A3091762 Stringed instruments at Hamburg A4051772 Gottfried Silbermann built the organ in the main Roman Catholic church in Dresden, and it had a pitch of A 415 at the time.1780 Organ builder Schulz A421.31780 Stein's tuning fork A422.61751 Handel's own fork A422.51800 Broadwood's C fork, 505.7, which is about half a semitone lower than that of today1811 Paris Grand Opera A 4271812 Paris Conservatoire A440, as modern pitch1813 George Smart adopted for the Philharmonic Society the pitch of A423.3.1820 Westminster Abbey organ and possibly Paris Comic Opera used a pitch of A422.5.1828 Philharmonic Society A 4401834 Vienna Opera A 436.51835 Wolfels piano maker A4431836 Pleyel's Pianos A4461846 Philharmonic pitch was A452.5 (very high) which lasted till 18541846 Mr Hipkins piano tuner (Meantone) A433.5 (Equal) A436.01849 Broadwood's medium pitch was A445.9 which lasted till 18541858 New Philharmonic pitch C5221860 Cramer's piano makers of London A448.41862 Dresden Opera A 4401871 Covent Garden Opera House A 4401877 Collard's piano maker standard pitch was A 449.91877 St. Paul Cathedral organ A446.61877 Chappell Pianos A455.91877 Mr Hipkins piano tuner A448.81878 Her Majesty's Organ A436.11878 Vienna Opera A4471879 Covent Garden Opera A4501879 Erard's factory fork 455.31879 Steinway of England A 454.1879 British Army regulation pitch for woodwinds A451.91880 Brinsmead, Broadwood, and Erard apparently used a pitch of A455.31880 Steinway may have been using a pitch of A436. According to Steinway of New York, 1880 is right around the time they switched from three piece rims to the continuous rim that is used today. So it is unlikely the pitch was any higher before 1880, yet Steinway of London had a fork A454.7.1885 In Vienna a pitch of A435.4 was adopted at a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit for A.1885 At an international exhibition of inventions and music in London a pitch of A452 was adopted.1896 Philharmonic pitch A439, giving C5221925 On the 11th of June the American music industry adopted A440.1936 American Standards Association adopted A440. yet; New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, use 442 Hz1939 At an international conference A440 was adopted.

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Music is my best friend.â€śHaters don't really hate you. They hate themselves because you are a reflection of what they wish to be.â€ť â€• Yaira N

I once bookmarked this page, according to which the pitch of old keyboard instruments was:

1640 Vienna Franciscan Organ A457.61699 Paris Opera A4041711 John Shore's tuning fork, a pitch of A423.5 He invented the tuning fork, one of which still exists today.1780 Stines, for Mozart, A4211780 Organ builder Schulz A421.31714 Strasbourg Cathedral organ A3911722 Dresden's chief Roman Catholic church organ A4151759 Trinity College Cambridge organ A3091762 Stringed instruments at Hamburg A4051772 Gottfried Silbermann built the organ in the main Roman Catholic church in Dresden, and it had a pitch of A 415 at the time.1780 Organ builder Schulz A421.31780 Stein's tuning fork A422.61751 Handel's own fork A422.51800 Broadwood's C fork, 505.7, which is about half a semitone lower than that of today1811 Paris Grand Opera A 4271812 Paris Conservatoire A440, as modern pitch1813 George Smart adopted for the Philharmonic Society the pitch of A423.3.1820 Westminster Abbey organ and possibly Paris Comic Opera used a pitch of A422.5.1828 Philharmonic Society A 4401834 Vienna Opera A 436.51835 Wolfels piano maker A4431836 Pleyel's Pianos A4461846 Philharmonic pitch was A452.5 (very high) which lasted till 18541846 Mr Hipkins piano tuner (Meantone) A433.5 (Equal) A436.01849 Broadwood's medium pitch was A445.9 which lasted till 18541858 New Philharmonic pitch C5221860 Cramer's piano makers of London A448.41862 Dresden Opera A 4401871 Covent Garden Opera House A 4401877 Collard's piano maker standard pitch was A 449.91877 St. Paul Cathedral organ A446.61877 Chappell Pianos A455.91877 Mr Hipkins piano tuner A448.81878 Her Majesty's Organ A436.11878 Vienna Opera A4471879 Covent Garden Opera A4501879 Erard's factory fork 455.31879 Steinway of England A 454.1879 British Army regulation pitch for woodwinds A451.91880 Brinsmead, Broadwood, and Erard apparently used a pitch of A455.31880 Steinway may have been using a pitch of A436. According to Steinway of New York, 1880 is right around the time they switched from three piece rims to the continuous rim that is used today. So it is unlikely the pitch was any higher before 1880, yet Steinway of London had a fork A454.7.1885 In Vienna a pitch of A435.4 was adopted at a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit for A.1885 At an international exhibition of inventions and music in London a pitch of A452 was adopted.1896 Philharmonic pitch A439, giving C5221925 On the 11th of June the American music industry adopted A440.1936 American Standards Association adopted A440. yet; New York Philharmonic and the Boston Symphony Orchestra, use 442 Hz1939 At an international conference A440 was adopted.

So It's different, It says 446 Hz

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Sorry for my English, I know it sucks, but I'm trying to improve.

In an era of international standards, that list is an incredibly useful reminded of how un-standardized the situation was before the 20th century.

I just wonder how Mozart (who presumably had absolute pitch) and other musicians of the previous era handled the changes in pitch during travels from one country to another.

There's a video of Earl Wild playing a Chopin etude at written pitch, and then down a semitone. It sounded better in the lower rendition, and I think he was suggesting that perhaps the problem was that Chopin's pitch was lower. The above list suggests (strongly) that it was not.

Edited by Palindrome (12/10/1202:09 PM)Edit Reason: Add Wild comment.

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There is no end of learning. -Robert Schumann Rules for Young Musicians